ArmInfo. Armenia is among the priority partners of the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), Armenia's Deputy Minister of Economy Arman Khojoyan wrote in a Facebook message as he commented on his meeting with ADA representatives.
"The Austrian Development Agency is highly appreciating its cooperation with Armenia. As a result, our country is among the 11 priority partners for the ADA," he writes.
In September 2015, the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) launched the Organic Agriculture Support Initiative (OASI) in Armenia. For three and a half years, ADA implemented the EU initiative worth 3.3 million euros in cooperation with a project team in Yerevan and the Armenian Ministry of Agriculture. The Austrian Development Cooperation contributed 500,000 euros to the total budget. OASI is considered a pioneering project in two ways: So far, it has been the largest initiative of its kind ever managed by ADA for the EU in Armenia. Secondly, it has been the first cooperation in the country with ADA being both donor and implementing partner. In March 2019, the closing ceremony was held in Dzoraghbyur, Armenia. On this occasion, Piotr Switalski, Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation in Yerevan, Garnik Petrosyan, Armenian Deputy Minister of Agriculture, and the ADA staff also celebrated the opening and expansion of two so-called "Green Training Centres" in the provinces of Kotayk and Tavush.
In 2020, Armenia's Ministry of Economy and ADA signed a memorandum of understanding providing for expert consultations and advices on agricultural policy development, improvement of laws and creation of necessary conditions for development of Armenia's green agriculture.
Early this year, the European Union (EU) launched an EU4Environment - Water Resources and Environmental Data programme in Armenia. The new programme will contribute to the EaP countries' longer-term environmental, climate, and socio-economic resilience. The programme aims to improve human health and wellbeing, as well as the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
The ADA Armenia office was opened in Armenia during a visit paid to Armenia by Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.